Report on North Caucasus by Reporters Without Borders Published

Reporters Without Borders released the report of an investigation into the situation of the media in the North Caucasus (Chechnya-Ingushetia-Dagestan) on June 25, 2009.

The Reporters Without Borders, an international organization for press freedom visited to region, met with the local media workers and local leaders including pro-Moscow Chechen Government’s head puppet Kadirov.

The press freedom organisation examined the ability of local and foreign journalists to gather and report information amid considerable tension, finding that the media and the civil society representatives who defend free expression are subject to a great deal of harassment. Reporters Without Borders also looked at how the public gets access to independent news and information and asked government officials to give their take on the situation.

The official insistence that the situation in the Russian Caucasus is under control is not borne out by the continuing violence, tension and human rights violations in this southern region. “Reporters Without Borders” noted that, today’s media in Chechnya as heir to the press existed in Soviet times, growing pressure on journalists. Because of leaders of the pro-Moscow government in Chechnya don’t trust journalists and human rights activists, they think this people working for the west and trying to abolish current regime.

According to report, puppet leaders of the region and the media employee which is financing by the pro-Moscow leader think there is a freedom for press. But Lyoma Turpalov, the editor of “Groznensky Rabochiy” newspaper and a correspondent of “DOSH” magazine rejected to claims and they said: “Nowadays one is only supposed to talk about what is working well!”.

And interesting note from the report, in Chechnya journalists belive that “the best period for the press was under Dzhokhar Dudaev. Articles were bolder and more honest. Lots of readers’ letters were printed. Not a single journalist disappeared or was killed or beaten in Dudaev’s time.”

In Ingushetia, only the ingushetia.org and NGOs breaking to dead silence; but Ingushetia government thinks this webpage and NGOs are sharing to provocative materials.

If you would like to read whole report you can download it HERE. (rar password: waynakh.com)